24 June 2010 - Staffan de Mistura, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan, today told journalists that UNAMA is not reducing its international personnel.

Responding to media queries at a press conference with the visiting UN Security Council, the UN envoy said that media reports on the recently released Secretary-General's report on Afghanistan had misinterpreted details about UNAMA setting up a "back office" in Kuwait.

"What we have done...is that when we have a peak of attention on elections we will bring more people dealing with elections – and those who are working on the computer, on the travel or on the payroll can do it from Kuwait, like any other organization," he told journalists. "This is nothing to do with re-deployment or reduction."

The UN report had highlighted the need to ensure secure accommodation for all UN staff in Afghanistan, following the attack on a UN guest house in October last year. Maintaining an even number of international staff for existing secure accommodation means relocating some administrative support staff to the back office so that more electoral- or humanitarian-related staff can be deployed inside Afghanistan.

"What we have done," said de Mistura, "is actually keep more or less the same number – we are close to 1,000 at present – international staff; (as well as) 6,000 national staff."

UNAMA is a special political mission established in 2002 by the UN Security Council; the Council renewed the mandate on 22 March 2010 with its resolution 1917 (2010).